It’s with heavy hearts that I share the news that Gary Davidson, one of the original Greens in NYC, passed away earlier today at home after a long and courageous battle with cancer.

I first crossed paths with Gary back in 1992 while I was working on the Jerry Brown for President campaign. After the campaign, many of us felt a bit disillusioned with the Democratic Party and decided to create an independent political club. During the Brown campaign, we had been in touch with Greens across the state. In late ’93, Howie Hawkins heard about us and our plans to run candidates, and after meeting, we joined forces city-wide with the Green Party. Shortly after that, Gary and I, along with a few others, decided to decentralize and form the Brooklyn Greens. Gary was a regular, dedicated volunteer on my campaigns for public office throughout the ‘90s and was one of the petitioners for Nader ’96 and Al Lewis ’98.

Gary was a dedicated activist, often juggling his time between Greens and Veterans for Peace, and many protests. He had been a professional photographer for the NY Daily News before fully committing to activism. His background in art inspired many of his protest posters. He owned a home in East New York, Brooklyn, and was known for his backyard BBQs. He was also a dedicated volunteer at the local church and was well-integrated into community activism. They became a local tradition for music and political discussion as we continued our activism.

He had recently been in and out of the hospital for cancer treatments post-chemotherapy. Early today, his roommate, friend, and fellow activist Richard Hirsh checked on him and found he had passed away. I’ll miss his activism, great political discussion, and the camaraderie, trying to foment that revolutionary moment. Thank you for over 30 years of friendship and support for all our work together.

Tributes are being posted to his Facebook page.

Craig Seeman
Kings County

Interview courtesy of the East New York Oral History Project

The complete interview can be listed to at Center for Brooklyn History.

Oral history interview conducted by Sarita Daftary-Steel
October 06, 2014
Call number: 2015.011.05